Davorlim villagers demand scrapping of land acquisition
HERALDR REPORTER
MARGAO, JULY 4
Davorlim villagers on Sunday threatened to take to the streets if the government fails to scrap the land acquisition process to acquire land admeasuring 1.15 square meters for the multipurpose utility project.
They demanded that the Davorlim panchayat again invite PWD Minister and local MLA Churchill Alemao for a meeting with the public to explain the objective behind the land acquisition and benefits for the local villagers.
At a special gram sabha meeting held on Sunday to discuss the burning issue, the villagers warned the government not to take the locals for granted, threatening to hit the streets.
Speakers urged the villagers to brace for a long drawn agitation to demand scrapping of the project. A woman villager urged the villagers to rally behind the public and not to hesitate on the issue because someone has distributed fertilizers. “This issue affects not only the present generation, but the posterity as well. We have to preserve this land for the housing requirements for the ST Community and the original inhabitants of this village”, a speaker said.
Village Sarpanch Francisco Dias later told newsmen that the government has gone ahead with the land acquisition without taking the locals into confidence. “When we went to question the district Collector G P Naik, he says the land is being acquired by the government”, he said, demanding to know whether the Collector is not part of the government.
Saying that the district Collector has even refused to provide report on the multipurpose utility project, the Sarpanch said the government has gone ahead with the acquisition despite stiff opposition from the locals and charged the district Collector for misguiding the villagers.
He said the local MLA was invited for the meeting, but Alemao failed to turn up, adding that the ZP Member attended the meeting. “There was a public demand at today’s meeting to write a letter to the local MLA and call him at the next meeting”, he added.
A local villager Andrew demanded that the land in question be reserved for Scheduled Tribes Community and the original inhabitants of the village. “Inhabitants of the village are basically ST community people. We want the land to be utilized for our housing needs”, he said, demanding that the local MLA Churchill Alemao should explain the villagers why the government is acquiring their land and for what purpose.
“He should come to the villager and hear our grievances. This land should be reserved for the ST community to fulfill their basic requirements, including housing”, he added.
